Water heater



1919 2 ShGBtS-Sheb l @Z .go

C. A. OLSON WATER HEATER Filed- June 25 Aug. R4, 1923.

Patented Ang. ld, i923,

narran aras t y remesa sanear oneroso CHARLES/a. OLSON, or GENEVA,iLLINoI GENEVA HEATER COMPANY, F GENEVA, ILLINOIS, A CORPURATION OFILLINOES.

waren Hamm,

Application led June 25, 1919. Serial No. 306,685.

To all wko/m, t may concern.:

Be it known that LCHARLns. OLSON, a citizen of the United States, andresiding at Geneva, Kane County, Illinois, have invented certain new anduseful lmprovey ments in Water Heaters, of which the following is adescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, formin apart of this specification.

y invention relates to gas Vwater heaters, and has reference moreparticularly to improvements 'in that type of water heater employingwater heating coils, one object of the invention being to improve theconstruction ofzheaters of this ltype so as to obtain maximum eiiiciencyin heat absorption and transfer, approximating ninety per cent, asindicated by -actual test, while keeping the fuel cost down to aminimum. Another object is the provision of a heating coil constructedwith a minimum fluid space and arranged to present a maximum amountofheating surface to the gas jets ofthe burner within a zone of maximumtemperature, thereby rendering the heater practically instantaneous incharacter, and wherein the velocity of theiwater passing through thecoil is reatly increasedy to thereby prevent deposlt of scale or othersediment. With these objects in view .the invention con-templates thearrangement of a coil, as

thus characterized, about a vertically positioned burner whose jetoutlets are spirally arranged with reference to the flattened heatingsurface of the coil, the major axes of the convolutions being disposedin parallelism, or substantially so, with the vertical ywall of theburner. It also contemplates an organization of a heating coil andburner structure wherein the axesof the burner is co-incident with theaxis of the coil and both are substantially co-extensive in the verticaldirection, the upper portion of the burner being imperforate andarranged with reference to the corresponding portion of the coil so asto baiile the yascendmg current of hot gases arising from the lowerportion of the structure, where the gseries.

'and3-3, respectively;

of water through each coil unit and thereby equally distribute the workthrough the This arrangement also contemplates the utilization ofstandard units of coils and burners in any number desired depending onheater capacity desired, and as such permits an interchange of the unitsand readily allows for repair as any unit may be disconnected and theremainder operated as before and in equal proportion.

My invention further contemplates the provision of certain novel detailsof construction, combination and arrangement of parts of the heater,whereby other advantages are attained, as will be more fully describedhereafter or are incident to the invention.

.These objects and advantages l attain by means of a constructionillustrated in preferred form in the accompanying drawings, whereinpFigure l isY a vertical sectional view of a heater to which my inventionis applied;

Figures 2 and 3 are Views in horizontal section of the coil and burnergroups'I of Figure l and are taken along the lines 2 2 Figure 4represents a diagrammatic view of the associated coils and headers, andto better illustrate their relation the headers normally annular, havebeen shown along straight lines with this purpose in View; and,

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail View in section through a jet outletportion of a burner and its corresponding coil portion.

Referring to the drawings, the reference character A denotes a heatershell or casing having any suitable supportingl base B and beingpreferably provided with a water casing or regulating'cylinder C and agas casing D, bothj of which are described more fully in a copendingapplication for Letters Patent of the United States, Serial Number299,645. Briefly stated, the gas valve (not shown here) in the casing Dis opened and closed by pressure differentiation occurring in casing Dupon the opening and closing of the faucet in the service line, andacting through the lever mechanismwhich is indicated generally by thereference character E. The gas chamber D is provided with separateradial gas conducting conduits 6 and these have` outlets 7 leading tothe air mixing valved members 8 which depend from the base wall 9`of theheater shell.-

S, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T0

' end with the water chamber C by means of av lll cold water supply pipe13, while the outlet or hot water header 14 communicates at its outletend with the outlet ipe 15 which leads through the heater shell to theservice pipe (not shown).

These headers may take the form of castings havingan annularcontour asshown, and each embodies an elongated water passage having a closed end,the other end in the one instance being the inlet 16 and in the otherthe outlet 17 In the heater illustrated tour coils 18, 19, 20 and 21 areshown applied to the headers, though any desired number may be employeddepending upon the capacity oit heater wanted, each being spirallyarranged about a burner 11 and having its convolutions attened toprovide a ribbon-like water Lpassage 22, the majorjaxis oit which is inparallelism with the wall 230i the burner (Figure 15). lt will beobserved' that the broad and dat spiralled heating surface 24 of thecoil is so located with reference to the confrontin the upper portion ojet outlets 25, which vare correspondingly spiralled, that the lamesemanating from the latterimpinge centrally upon such surface, and as theconvolutions are spaced in the vertical direction they are thereuponenveloped in the llames and heated gases.

In the preferred construction the lower part of each burner 11 only isperforated to form these outlets, the upper ortion 11a,

i) the coil belng yexten ed so as to baille the ascending heated gas andthereby increase the heat aby sorbing and transferring properties of thecoil. In this connection it is considered ad-v vantageous to so shapethe coil above its central position as to rst contract it and thenrelatively increase its diametrical prortlon, thereby forcing theascending gases mto a very effective contact with the upper coil part.In this manner, the coils are enabled to absorb ractically all the heat(ninety per cent y test) from the flames, leaving a sufficient margin ofheat to esca e and aiord' sutlicient draft to carry off` t e products ofcombustion. Thus it will be seenl that I provide in each heater unit aflame contact zone and a baille zone located between the cold and hotwater headers 12 and 14, and wherein a high velocity of flow through theelongated coil passa es 22 is insured to prevent deposit of sca eorother Sediment. The coils, furthermore, are arranged to receive themaximumamount of heat in both zones. r

@ne important feature ot my invention resides in the arrangement 'of thecoils, with respect to the inlet 16 and outlet 17 of the headers, inorder to provide for an equalization of water flow through each unit,and to permit the use of standard coils and burners, thereby allowingfor interchangeability of the units, or the disconnection of any unitfor repair or replacement without interfering with the operation, on anequal proportionate basis, of the remainder of the units. 'lhis featureis clearly disclosed in Figures 2, 3 and 4, to which reference is nowmore particularly directed. Figure 4 is merely diagrammatic, the headersbeing extended in straight lines for a. ready understanding of thisfeature. -All of the coils are removably attached at their opposed endsto the headers at intervals along the header passages, the end coil 18having its inlet end disposed in close proximity to the header inlet 16while its outlet is located at the point in the header 14 most remotefrom the outlet 17 and adjacent the closed end 27. @n the other hand theother end coil 21 has its inlet end adjacent the closed end 26 of theheader 12 and its outlet end in close proximity to the outlet 17. rl`heintermediate coils 19 and 20 are similarly arranged, that is to say,wherean inlet end of one member of a series is nearer t e header in letthan the other, the latter has its outlet end relatively nearer theheader outlet. ln other words, the resent embodiment of this teaturecontemplites opposed or reversed headers, one an inlet header and theother an outlet header, with coils terminally arranged in a serieswhereby their inlets are progressively spaced in a direction away fromthe header inlet and their corresponding outlets are progressivelypositioned at intervals in a direction toward the heater outlet. In thismanner the water flow of each coil unit is equalized, and consequentlythe etiiciency of the heater is materially increased.

The reference numeral 28 designates a-di's- Ell tance member for theheaders comprising a hollow rod whose lower end is detachably associatedwith the header 12, and whose interiorly threaded upper end supports theheader 14 by means of a disc 29 which is slightly larger than thecentral orifice of said header. In order to maintain thel rod in a fixedrelation with reference to the latter, and to removably position thehood 30,

I provide a bolt 31 which terminally en- Maaate B3 36 having radial lugs37 projecting beyond conditions, productive of high. eliciency, i. theperiphery of the disc to engage a cone., rapid circulation of hot gaseswith comvolution of the coil. This disc is detachably plete combustion;rapid circulation of a' seated upon the upper wall portion of each thinWater stream With maximum heat burner, as shown. Itvwill be thereforeobtransfer; and an instantaneous supply ofl vious that all the units andthe component hot water at low cost. parts thereof maybe very readilyasseml claim bled and as readily uncoupled for purposes In a wat/erhea-ter, the combination of a of repair or replacement. Should it becometubular inlet header of annular shape, havnecessary to take out a coil,the corresponding its ends disposed in proximity to each 45 ing needlevalve 38 may be closed to thereby other, one of said ends being closed,a supply shut off the supply of gas to the particular pipe connected tothe open end, a tubular burner it serves, and Without affecting theoutlet header of annular shape With itsends operation of the otherunits. A very notedisposed in proximity to each other, one of Worthyfeature of the heater is its simple said ends being closed, an outletpipe con- C@ and economical construction. The structure nected with theopen end of the outlet provides for rapid circulation; it affords aheader, a plurality of helical vertically llat maximum quantity of hotWater at a minitened heating coils, each being of reduced mum cost; andhaving a minimum water diameter intermediate its ends, said coilsbespace the supply of hot Water is practically ing connected with therespective headers instantaneous, thus effecting a saving in gas 1nmultiple and in inverse order with reand Water. spect to the closed endsof said headers so Another advantage of the construction rethat thepaths of flow through the, various sides in the fact that it permits thera-pid coils from said supply to said delivery pipe l circulation of thehot gases over the convoare of substantially equal length, and a tu-(31D lutions of the coil to obtain complete combular burner disposedWithin each coil, each bustion, thus preventing the formation of burnerhaving gas orifices below the rethe blanket of carbon-monoxidecustomarily stricted portion of the surrounding coil diencountered ingas Water heaters about the rectly opposed to the flattened face of thecoils, and providing for an eflicient transfer surroundlng coil andbeing imperforate @E of heat to the Water in the convolutions, abovesaid restricted portion of the coil to which eiliciency is materiallyincreased by provide a baile zone above the flames issuing theelongation of the latter in the vertical from said orifices. direction.In other Words, the structure presents at least three outstandingconcurrent CHARLES A. OLSON.

